00:00And you tell me, is this good, Tyler?
00:01The Rockets are minus 750 to win the series.
00:04Is that heavy favorite?
00:06That's strong.
00:06Strong favorite.
00:07That is strong.
00:09And they're a four-and-a-half-point favorite in game one.
00:14Now, the reason why they are that favorite is because of the injury situation
00:18with the Lakers.
00:19Luka and Austin Reeves, they're two best players, just to be honest,
00:24and they, at least offensively,
00:26and they aren't thought to be available in this series.
00:30Now, Shams Sharani of ESPN, their newsbreaker had this, Clint.
00:36Luka Doncic is returning to Los Angeles on Friday
00:40after spending the last week in Spain where he received multiple injections
00:45for his grade-to-left hamstring strain, according to Shams,
00:52and he will be back Friday.
00:53He also said the status is now unknown for him to be able to play on Saturday.
00:59But he has been in Spain trying to get additional treatment
01:03that's unable to be gotten here, and we'll see.
01:06Grade, too, I would assume that he's probably still not going to go much
01:11in this series, but even if he does, there's no way that he is healthy.
01:16One, he's a defensive liability anyhow.
01:19I mean, you'd be hunting down switches for him all day long.
01:22But we do know what he can do offensively, so maybe it just washes.
01:26But that is going to be the big thing to watch coming into this series
01:30because the reason why the Rockets are such favorites is because of those injuries.
01:34Yeah, Ron, for me, look, I mean, I said before the injuries
01:38that the Lakers scared me more than anybody because of just their ability to close.
01:41The options that they have, the absolute assassins that they have
01:45that can close in the final minute or final two or three minutes of a game,
01:49the Rockets at the time, Kevin Durant's the only guy that could get that done,
01:53and it was not pretty at the time.
01:55Now, I still wouldn't feel real comfortable if all those guys were healthy.
01:59I think the Rockets can play with a healthy Lakers team.
02:01I think they can play with them.
02:02I think they can get to the brink with them.
02:03I don't know if they can finish four out of seven times
02:06in order to move to the second round.
02:09Now, with this skeleton crew that they look like they're going to face
02:12for at least the first part of the series, I like our chances.
02:17And like I said before, handle business quick like you should.
02:22Get multiple days rest before that second series starts.
02:25Hope that whoever your opponent is gets taken to the brink in seven games,
02:28and then you catch them in game one.
02:31Maybe they're a little fatigued and you're good and rested.
02:33So, you know, look, the good fortune of the Rockets is upon us here
02:42catching the Lakers in the first round.
02:44Now, this obviously changed.
02:46I mean, even if Luka is, if he's 75% himself,
02:55I think it does change the series in terms of what I would still believe
03:02the Rockets would win because, you know, I think he would still be limited.
03:06But it would change the series.
03:08I think Luka, at 75% of Luka,
03:12especially what he would still be able to bring offensively,
03:14would be a huge change.
03:16Because they're not playing terribly right now, to be honest,
03:20the way that the Lakers finished the season off.
03:23But, again, obviously, LeBron just needs some break,
03:28somebody else that could be able to take things through.
03:30And if Luka's there, it does change.
03:32Well, that'll be one of the more fascinating parts of the,
03:35at least early on in this series,
03:37is just the basketball fan of what does LeBron have left in the tank.
03:41Because there ain't no riding, obviously, right now,
03:44riding the two players that have scored
03:47and been a more integral part of the offense, I think, this year.
03:51This has got to be about him, the first handful of games anyway.
03:54So, just basketball fans in general, that's going to be fun as hell to watch.
03:58Yeah, I think this feels like, if Luka and them aren't going to be able to go,
04:02this feels like a sweep, or at least a gentleman's sweep.
04:06And you would think five days off, didn't play very much yesterday,
04:10so five plus days off is what LeBron will have, close to six days off.
04:16Game one, that's probably the best shot at the Lakers.
04:19You have a fully rested series.
04:22This thing gets past game three, and the energy you think he will have to,
04:26to kind of show, to get them to compete,
04:31the Rockets should have a huge advantage, you know, later on in that series.
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